2019-20 Coaching Discussion/Carousel

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#1,226      
Hard pass on Monken and triple option. If that move was made and it didn’t work it would set the program back further than Beckman did.
 
#1,227      

illinipioneer

Richmond, VA
Hard pass on Monken and triple option. If that move was made and it didn’t work it would set the program back further than Beckman did.

Werner was pondering this the other day when he had Rittenburg on and the convo was suggestive that Monken may not be as married to the system as it seems. I have no clue what other offenses he’s been around/ran so I can’t speak to it but it was intriguing. Especially given his connections to the local area.
 
#1,228      
Another shutout for Jim Leonhard's defense against MSU. That makes 4 out of 6 games ending in a shutout. Wisconsin allowing fewest yards and points per game. Sign me up for Team Leonhard!
 
#1,230      
Re: Chip Long, just heard that he is very awkward and kind of just a weird person. They also said a lot of his recruiting looks good because Notre Dame is Notre Dame.

Not convinced. I've seen him in plenty of interviews. Whether he is "weird" or not, the guy is no Beckman when it comes to media interaction.

Also not buying the recruiting thing either. He recruited well before Notre Dame and already has Midwest connections. Still sticking with him as my number 2 guy fwiw.
 
#1,231      
How y'all feeling about Rod Carey these days?
 
#1,232      

ILFaninFL

Nature Coast in Florida
Here are my top 3 right now:
Luke Fickle Cincinnati (age 46) 26 – 18 overall. Coached at Ohio State on the defensive side and was the interim coach for a period of time from 2002 – 2016. His first year they were 4 – 8. He guided them to 11 – 2 last year. Currently 5 – 1.

Rod Carey Temple (age 48) 57 – 31 overall. Head Coach of Northern Illinois 2012 – 2018. There were a couple of years I thought they had the best team in Illinois. Currently 5 – 1. Only first year at Temple.

Mike Norvell Memphis (age 38) 31 – 15 overall. Worked as an Offensive Coordinator for Pittsburgh and Arizona State before becoming the head coach at Memphis in 2016. Won his division the last two years. This might be a reach because he doesn’t have a lot of head coaching experience and is young. Currently 5 – 1.
 
#1,234      

ChiefGritty

Chicago, IL
Werner was pondering this the other day when he had Rittenburg on and the convo was suggestive that Monken may not be as married to the system as it seems. I have no clue what other offenses he’s been around/ran so I can’t speak to it but it was intriguing. Especially given his connections to the local area.

I have very little interest in Monken, someone who has perfected what he does over decades at many different stops, chucking it all out the window to try something different.

Seems like an exercise in make-believe to me.

How y'all feeling about Rod Carey these days?

Extremely good, but it would cost $10 million just to buy him out at Temple. It makes more sense to reallocate that money elsewhere, another candidate, assistant salary pool, etc.
 
#1,235      

SycIllini

Sycamore, Illinois
I have kind of wondered why we never looked the way of NIU for a coaching hire. Kill, Doeren, Carey all had good success there and some success at their next stop too. Right in our backyard. Timing maybe? As far as when we were looking vs where those guys were in their NIU stints?
 
#1,236      
Extremely good, but it would cost $10 million just to buy him out at Temple. It makes more sense to reallocate that money elsewhere, another candidate, assistant salary pool, etc.

Ah, makes sense. Looks like Temple did a pretty good job of locking him down. I agree that there are better uses of $10M.

I'm not yet excited about Fickle, despite his success at Cinci. I guess it's hard to get that year as OSU head coach out of my mind.
 
#1,237      

ChiefGritty

Chicago, IL
Timing maybe? As far as when we were looking vs where those guys were in their NIU stints?

Yup. Kill went to Minny the year before we fired Zook, if he'd stayed I'm sure he would have been at the top of our list.

Fun fact, Joe Novak who started the whole run there was an assistant to Gary Moeller at Illinois.

I'm not yet excited about Fickle, despite his success at Cinci. I guess it's hard to get that year as OSU head coach out of my mind.

Eh, I wouldn't take much out of that positively or negatively. He was just a babysitter. A bunch of guys were suspended for a big chunk of that season, they lost Terrelle Pryor in June and it was a fait accompli that Urban Meyer was coming by mid-November. You could say Fickell did an admirable job of keeping a roof on the place during such chaos, but I wouldn't go too far down that road either. It wasn't his team in any meaningful sense.
 
#1,238      
Ah, makes sense. Looks like Temple did a pretty good job of locking him down. I agree that there are better uses of $10M.

I'm not yet excited about Fickle, despite his success at Cinci. I guess it's hard to get that year as OSU head coach out of my mind.

Bolded: LOL, that they did. Getting burned by 2 coaches in a matter of months will do that to ya.
 
#1,239      

ChiefGritty

Chicago, IL
Bolded: LOL, that they did. Getting burned by 2 coaches in a matter of months will do that to ya.

5 in 9 years.

Carey felt things slipping at NIU after years of complaints about a lack of resources dedicated to football (it's the MAC, they're limited in what they can do, both sides had a fair point in that dispute), so he jumped to somewhere that is willing to pointlessly throw money at a doomed non-P5 operation, and was willing to lock himself in to do so. Everybody wins.
 
#1,240      

ChiefGritty

Chicago, IL
Oh, by the way, I heard from a "source" yesterday who claimed to have heard that Clay Helton is a dead man walking at USC, and when he's fired he will then be hired by Illinois.

This is secondhand information from someone in IL HS football who has been wrong about stuff like this before. Take it with an Everest-sized grain of salt. I'm not much of an insider but the price is right. ;)
 
#1,241      
Oh, by the way, I heard from a "source" yesterday who claimed to have heard that Clay Helton is a dead man walking at USC, and when he's fired he will then be hired by Illinois.

This is secondhand information from someone in IL HS football who has been wrong about stuff like this before. Take it with an Everest-sized grain of salt. I'm not much of an insider but the price is right. ;)

Oh god no. I hope your friend is wrong again.
 
#1,242      

Illinifan533

Normal, Illinois
Eh, I wouldn't take much out of that positively or negatively. He was just a babysitter. A bunch of guys were suspended for a big chunk of that season, they lost Terrelle Pryor in June and it was a fait accompli that Urban Meyer was coming by mid-November. You could say Fickell did an admirable job of keeping a roof on the place during such chaos, but I wouldn't go too far down that road either. It wasn't his team in any meaningful sense.

No reasonable person should be worried about Fickell going 6-6 with Ohio State in a season that was already 8 years ago. Tbh, that team no had business even going 6-6, yet they did. Remember how the Buckeyes were the first to realize that the Illini offense in 2011 was just Scheelhaase to Jenkins? Also, Fickell stayed with the team when Meyer took over, so he probably picked up a few things. At this point, I'd be more worried about Fickell inheriting Meyer's worst qualities, i.e. being too loyal to veterans and filling out his staff with a bunch of his friends.
 
#1,243      

ChiefGritty

Chicago, IL
At this point, I'd be more worried about Fickell inheriting Meyer's worst qualities, i.e. being too loyal to veterans and filling out his staff with a bunch of his friends.

Well first of all, at every one of Meyer's stops he has retained the old DC. It's quite a list (Tim Beckman, Kyle Whittingham, Charlie Strong, Luke Fickell). Maybe that's the loyalty to veterans thing? It's certainly not filling his staff with friends. He had no connection to Tom Herman or Ryan Day when he brought them in either.

Putting a high quality staff around himself is, in fact, pretty clearly Meyer's BEST quality (one which Fickell certainly executed at Cincy). Not even Saban has been as prodigious at developing future head coaches as Meyer.

Meyer's worst quality is that he's a workaholic who treats himself poorly and inevitably burns himself out physically and mentally. And that's only going to get worse as he ages.

My prediction for Meyer's next job (USC?) is that he either learns to chill out and ends up not nearly as successful, or that he's the magical Urban Meyer for about two years and then has to walk away again.

He's as head and shoulders above the pack as a color guy/analyst as he is as a coach (his ability to communicate football concepts clearly and simply makes it obvious why he's so good at molding 18 year old high school kids into guys who can execute flawlessly), if I were him I'd just keep doing that. Be the next Lee Corso.
 
#1,246      

BZuppke

Plainfield
Yes the terrible PJ Fleck who openly lusted for the Illinois job is now 6-0. Yes I’m glad we took a pass on him.

Separately I heard from a former player that Rod Carey’s staff pushed a lot of drugs on kids. Undetectable stuff I’m told. Is it the same everywhere perhaps?
 
#1,247      
Oh, by the way, I heard from a "source" yesterday who claimed to have heard that Clay Helton is a dead man walking at USC, and when he's fired he will then be hired by Illinois.

This is secondhand information from someone in IL HS football who has been wrong about stuff like this before. Take it with an Everest-sized grain of salt. I'm not much of an insider but the price is right. ;)
I would be both shocked and elated
 
#1,248      

ChiefGritty

Chicago, IL
I would be both shocked and elated

With Helton? Really? That guy has one light resume for a job like head coach of USC.

He was Memphis' OC in 2009 when Tommy West got fired, then went to Arkansas State as OC in 2010 and Steve Roberts got fired, went to USC and worked his way up to OC in 2013 and Lane Kiffin was promptly fired, kept the OC job and then two years later Steve Sarkisian was fired and now it's him, and he's gonna get fired.
 
#1,249      

TMC999

Not Iowa
There are so many strange takes out there. Here are 5 oddballs:
  1. Fleck. He far exceeded expectations for how fast things would turn for the Rodents. But I would never want him in the O&B. Stay up north. #RTB
  2. Carey - this is why I'm not a college AD. I'm stunned what he's doing this year at Temple. Good for him.
  3. Kiffin - after how the UT stuff went down, I used to say never. Maybe he's matured at FIU? I'd be open.
  4. Petrino - only a university who has zero.. no... NEGATIVE integrity would go this way. If we do this, do we target Pearl for Hoops?
  5. Doeren - I thought he'd fail at NCSt. But look at him now... potentially out of reach? Again, good for him.
I just need some hope.
 
#1,250      
There are so many strange takes out there. Here are 5 oddballs:
  1. Fleck. He far exceeded expectations for how fast things would turn for the Rodents. But I would never want him in the O&B. Stay up north. #RTB
  2. Carey - this is why I'm not a college AD. I'm stunned what he's doing this year at Temple. Good for him.
  3. Kiffin - after how the UT stuff went down, I used to say never. Maybe he's matured at FIU? I'd be open.
  4. Petrino - only a university who has zero.. no... NEGATIVE integrity would go this way. If we do this, do we target Pearl for Hoops?
  5. Doeren - I thought he'd fail at NCSt. But look at him now... potentially out of reach? Again, good for him.
I just need some hope.

Good perspective on these HC and I agree with you. PJ just rubs me the wrong way.
 
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